Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 159,382 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,215,753 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 159,382 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.71% of Zoetis worth $523,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,243,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,492,973. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $157.27 and a 200-day moving average of $166.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.